


Limbo

by ArtemisRising



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-17
Updated: 2019-02-17
Packaged: 2019-10-30 05:49:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17823059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArtemisRising/pseuds/ArtemisRising
Summary: When Thanos snapped his fingers half of the universe's population faded away into dust. The remaining Avengers have been left to pick up the pieces, but what awaits the victims in the Soul World?





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Aftermath

"Steve” Bucky murmured, the words leaving his mouth as a strange feeling took over his body. It was as if his very cells were losing all integrity, fading away into nothingness. Bucky saw Steve turn to him, fear in his deep blue eyes. Bucky tried to take a step towards his best friend but his foot never found the ground. Instead, it started to dissolve into strange brown particles which rapidly surged up his body, engulfing the super soldier.   
Steve watched with horror as his friend’s black gun fell to the leaf covered earth with a dull thud, specks of brown ash the only evidence that Bucky Barnes had been there.

While Steve was experiencing the worst pain for the second time in his unfortunately long life, Bucky Barnes was not feeling the same.   
  
Quite the opposite.   
  
The gentle tingling he’d felt as his body dissolved had evolved into a warmth that spread through his entire being. It was the closest thing to relief that he'd felt in many years.   
  
_Dying is more comfortable than I anticipated_ , was the only thought that ran through the Sergeant’s mind. After so many years of pain, he didn’t imagine that his final moments would be ones of peace and comfort. But…this didn’t feel like death. Maybe almost, but not quite.

Once Bucky became accustomed to the new warmth, he realised that there was something underneath him. Something wide and firm. That was when his body started to return. The sunshine in his veins was fading, leaving behind the familiar solidness of his muscles and the extra weight of the vibranium limb on his left.

Very slowly, Bucky blinked awake.   
  
Immediately he knew that he was no longer in Wakanda.   
  
The light that saturated his vision was a ruby red, and as his blue eyes adjusted he realised that there was no single origin point for the light. It stretched as though it was painted on the ceiling.  
  
“What…” Bucky whispered, but he found himself at a loss for words. As he sat up, still dressed in his blue vest, khaki pants and combat boots, he found himself lying in an open field. Small white flowers sprouted around him, perfectly still and facing upwards towards the ruby sky. Hills stretched up around him, creating the feeling that he was trapped in some kind of earth bowl.

“This is…strange” came a familiar voice from a few metres away. Bucky turned to see Wanda sitting cross legged, staring calmly at the sky above them.  
  
“Yeah, this ain’t what I was expecting heaven to look like either” Bucky was torn between relief and utter disappointment as he recognised Sam’s baritone.

“This is not heaven” came King T’Challa’s accented voice. “This is something else”  
  
“Oh my god! Oh my god!” panic radiated out of Peter as he shot up from the grass around him. “Where are we? Where’s Mr Stark?! May is going to kill me!” the teenager exclaimed, looking around wildly.

“Calm down, Spiderling. Everything’s going to be okay” Sam tried to sooth, but the tightness wouldn’t leave Peter’s chest.

“No, it’s not! I was on my way to school! How is she going to cope? After Uncle Ben I couldn’t –”

“Peter, it’s okay” came Wanda’s soothing voice and Bucky watched her move towards him, attempting to calm the teenager but he seemed to be spiralling out of control.  
  
“You don’t understand! I can’t leave her – not after Uncle Ben” Peter continued to ramble, voice raising in pitch the kid continued to ramble but it faded away as Bucky looked around.

Every few feet lay one of his comrades from the fields of Wakanda, although there were a few strangely coloured people that he definitely did not recognise.  
  
“Okay, why the hell is the sky red?” a very confused voice echoed across the meadow. Bucky turned to see a girl lying perfectly still on the carpet of white flowers, staring up at the ruby ceiling above them. He couldn’t remember ever having met her, but there was something familiar about her nagging at the back of his brain.  
  
“Are you alright?” Bucky asked as his mind kicked back into gear, taking the few steps over to her and offering her his metal hand to help her up. Sizing him up briefly, she placed her soft hand in his and let him pull her to her slightly unsteady feet.  
  
“I’ve been better” she replied jokingly, observing their bizarre surroundings. “I’m (Y/N), by the way”

The super soldier smiled grimly, holding out his right hand for her to shake.  
  
“I’m Bucky”


	2. Introduction

It took a long time for the group to calm Peter down enough so that they could have a rational conversation (well, not so much them calming him down, more him working himself into such a panic the he eventually fell asleep with a tear-stained face in Wanda’s lap). The Avengers and their honorary team mates sat in a rough circle, desperate to share as much information as possible.

Peter and Drax updated everyone on what happened on Titan while Mantis mostly nodded in agreement. You couldn’t help but notice how Fury’s jaw clenched when they got to the section of their story that featured Tony Stark being stabbed in the chest with his own weapon.

Wanda supplied most of the information about the battle of Wakanda and her attempts to destroy the Mind Stone at the centre of Vision’s forehead. You’d never met Wanda before, but you could tell from the tightness in her voice that the experience was not something she’d ever forget. Bucky added some smaller pieces of information here and there, right up until the moment that Thanos snapped his fingers.

You sat there in stunned silence. Everything made so much more sense now. You’d just been sitting in the cafeteria at work eating a very disappointing salad and dreaming of your bed at home when the strangest feeling had overtaken your body. It was like every cell had begun vibrating so intensely that they were falling away at the atomic level and before you knew it you were staring up at a scarlet sky and then into the face of James Buchanan Barnes.

A face, that you had to admit, was rather breathtaking. You’d seen blurry photos of Bucky occasionally and from 2 very distinct time points. The first type, from the 40s, had been mottled and sepia toned photocopies in the glossy pages of your American History textbook in high school. The focus of those chapters had of course been on Bucky’s best friend, Steve Rogers, but Bucky hadn’t gone unnoticed to you.

The second lot of photos did not have the same rosy-tint. They were cold, pixelated screenshots from security camera footage throughout the years, all featuring a flash of silver from his left arm.

But the Bucky Barnes that was sitting next to you seemed a far cry from the criminal that the American media had tried to paint him as over the last few years. He looked almost comfortable in his navy, one armed tactical jacket and army green pants, and there was a warmth in his stormy blue eyes that you hadn’t seen before.

You were so busy taking in the rather handsome contours of Bucky’s face that your ears were deaf to the words of the others in the group. If you’d been paying attention, you would have heard Nick Fury explain that there was a metahuman known to SHIELD that had remained a company secret. Her name, he told everyone, was Carol Danvers and she was a human who had been converted to the Kree species after an almost fatal accident. She went by the code name Captain Marvel and both he and Maria took great comfort in the fact that they hadn’t found her anywhere in the valley, leaving them to pray that she had not been caught up in the snap.

“Personally, I’m still at a loss as to why you’re here, (Y/N)” Dr Strange piped up from across the circle and you felt your cheeks blaze at the sudden switch in attention.

“Do…do you two know each other?” Sam asked, his brown furrowing in confusion.

“I used to work with him at Metro-General before he left to be a wizard” you joked lamely, turning your gaze from the circle of curious faces to the soft ground under your crossed legs.   
  
“Are you a surgeon?” Bucky asked gently, but Stephen scoffed loudly and you looked up to scowl at him.

“She wishes”

“I’m a theatre nurse and perfectly proud of it thank you very much” you clipped back and a small chorus of ‘ooohs’ echoed around the group. “And I think I deserve a damn bravery award for dealing with you for 4 years” you teased and although Dr Strange’s eyes narrowed slightly you could see the twitch in his lip as he attempted to suppress a smirk.   
  
“Doesn’t really explain why you appeared next to with us” Hope Pym murmured from a few placed away from you. “I don’t mean to insult you but everyone here has an extraordinary connection. I don’t see anyone else’s ex-colleagues here”  
  
“I agree with you” you replied, shrugging nonchalantly but an embarrassed heat prickled up the back of your neck. “But it doesn’t change the fact that I’m here and I’ll help however I can”

Thankfully the conversation moved away from you and back to possible solutions, but your discomfort didn’t go unnoticed by everyone.   
  
Bucky could see the shift in your demeanour after Hope’s comment. He wasn’t sure if he should do or say something to reassure you, but even if he tried he wasn’t sure what to say. There wasn’t a logical reason for your presence. Hope was right – no one else in their ‘bowl’ was a random former co-worker. They were all connected by their powers or the Avengers or blood, in the case of Shuri and T’Challa. Whatever higher power had decided who was resurrected where, there was a reason that you were with them.

And if he was honest with himself, he wasn’t disappointed that you were. It had taken him a few moments to really take in your face and ignore the familiarity that was itching against his mind, but once he had he noticed just how stunning you were. Beautiful eyes that sparkled despite the lack of sunlight and soft skin that flushed easily if you laughed or felt embarrassed. Something about you was slowly enchanting the super solider, much to his own surprise.

“Don’t worry about what Hope said” he murmured, the words tumbling over his lips before he could stop them. “All that matters is that you’re here now and as far as I’m concerned you’re one of us”  
  
“Thanks, Bucky” you murmured, tugging nervously on the end of your jumper sleeves. “And I really meant what I said, I’ll help you guys in anyway possible. I just want to go home” you added the last sentence very quietly, but Bucky still heard it and his heart squeezed tightly. If there was anyone in that glade who knew how strongly you could yearn to go home, it was him.

“We’ll get out of here. I know we will”

“I’m glad someone has some faith” you chuckled, attempting to pull one of the white flowers out of the grass, but it seemed to lose all integrity as your fingers reached the petals. “God this place is weird” you sighed in defeat and Bucky breathed out a laugh.

“I guess it’s our home for now. Better make the best of it”

**Author's Note:**

> New series! It's not going to be super long but I'm planning on having it finished by the time Endgame comes out. Just trying to get y'all pumped


End file.
